A review by marjenn
Once and for All by Sarah Dessen

3.0

Pretty standard Sarah Dessen, maybe a little more memorable than Saint Anything (I read Saint Anything in 2015 and honestly could not tell you a single plot detail or character name). I did not really find Louna's (that name, though) relationships with either of the central love interests' compelling in the least.

On that plot device (spoilers):

Spoiler

a lot of people have commented on the use of the school shooting as a plot device here to provide Louna's backstory some meat and explain why she is so apprehensive of love and romance. I thought it was a surprising choice, because most books that include school shootings are 100% about school shootings. I'm not sure how I feel about it being used as background fodder for character backstory. In some ways, maybe it doesn't do justice to the awful and inherently political nature of mass shootings. In others, though, I think maybe it highlights how commonplace school shootings have become that we have come to accept it as a relatively regular occurrence. Louna's says something along those lines in the book, and my guess is that the shooting was Dessen's way of (hamfistedly) incorporating a new dimension to her works.

Mostly, I applaud Dessen for attempting to add something new to her tried-and-true (stale?) formula.

Other than that, Once and for All has the humor and hope of all Dessen books, and while it is not my favorite of her work, it's not my least favorite either.